The Development of Atomic Theory

Do Theories in Science Stay the

Same?
• Ideas and theories in Science change as new
information is gathered. (question 1)

Our theory about the atom has changed over time

as new studies are done. Even though no one
has ever seen an atom up close we are still able
to make new discoveries – just like we have
made new discoveries about dinosaurs.
 Who was Democritus?
Democritus was an ancient
Greek philosopher who lived
from 460 - 370 B.C.
What did Democritus conclude about
cutting matter in half?
There was a limit to how far you could
divide matter. You would eventually end
up with a piece of matter that could not be
cut.
What does the Greek word atomos
mean?

• The Greek word “atomos”

means not able to be
divided or
“indivisible.”
What did Democritus propose about
the atom?

• Atoms are small hard particles.

• Made of a single material that’s formed into
different shapes and sizes.
• They are always moving
• They form different materials by joining
together.

(Which of these statements do we now know

are correct? Was Democritus pretty smart for
someone who lived thousands of years ago?)
 Why weren’t Democritus’s ideas accepted?
• Aristotle was a very famous Greek philosopher who
believed that matter could be divided into smaller and
smaller pieces forever. He held a very strong influence
on popular belief and his views on this were accepted for
two thousand years.
 What is an Atom?
• An atom is the PIECES
smallest particle that OF
an element can be CARBON
divided and still be
that element.
• For example the
CARBON
smallest particle of ATOM
carbon is a single
atom of carbon. If you
divide it is no longer
carbon anymore.
John Dalton 1776-1844
• Two thousand years
later a British chemist
and schoolteacher
brings back
Democritus’s idea of the
atom
• He performed many
experiments to study
how elements join
together to form new
substances
• He found that they
combine in specific
ratios and he supposed
it was because the
elements are made of
What 3 new ideas did John
Dalton propose about the atom?
• All substances are made up of atoms
which are small particles that cannot be
created, divided, or destroyed.
• Atoms of the same element are exactly
alike and atoms of different elements are
different.
• Atoms join with other atoms to form
different substances
The validity of the atomic theory is
strengthened when it is used to explain
observations about matter:
1. The Law of Conservation of Mass
- matter can be changed, but nothing is created
nor destroyed. The masses of the reactants and
products are the same.
2. The Law of Definite Proportions
-the composition of a compound is revealed by its
formula. Consider H2O: this shows 2 atoms of H
combined with every atom of O. In a sample of
pure water, regardless of quantity or source, the
ratio of hydrogen atom in each molecule is definite,
a 2:1 ratio.
The validity of the atomic theory is
strengthened when it is used to explain
observations about matter:
3. The Law of Multiple Proportions
- When 2 elements combine to form more than one
compound, the weights of more than one element that
combine with a fixed weight of the other are in a ratio
of small whole numbers. For example, carbon and
oxygen react to form carbon dioxide (CO2) or carbon
monoxide (CO) but not CO1.2
J.J. Thomson 1856-1940

• What particle did

Thomson discover?
J.J. Thomson
discovered that atoms
are made of smaller
negatively-charged
particles called
electrons.
• Thomson’s discovery
was the result of doing
experiments with
“cathode ray tubes”
Thomson’s Cathode Ray Experiment

Stream of electrons is attracted to positively

charged plate here.

"What are these particles?

are they atoms, or
molecules, or matter in a still
finer state of subdivision?“ quote by Thomson
The Plum Pudding Model

• Thomson did not know how

the electrons in an atom were
arranged. He believed they
were mixed throughout an
atom.
• He proposed that the atom
was a sphere of positively
charged material. Spread
throughout the atom were the
negatively charged electrons
similar to plums in a pudding
or chocolate chips in ice
cream.
End Part 1
The Development of Atomic Theory
Part 2
 Ernest Rutherford
(1871 - 1937)
• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery
of alpha particles, positively charged particles emitted
from radioactive elements
• Was a student of J.J. Thomson but disagreed with the
“Plum Pudding Model”
• Devised an experiment to investigate the structure of
positive and negative charges in the atom.
An Interactive Model of Rutherford’s
Gold Foil Experiment

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/rutherford
Click here
What did most of the particles shot at
the gold foil do?

• Most of the particles traveled straight

through the gold foil

What was the surprising behavior of

a few of the particles?

• A few
of the particles were deflected
and some even bounced back
 Rutherford’s Revised Atomic Theory
(1911)
Result: Most of the positively charged particles went straight
through the gold foil.
Atomic Theory: Most of the matter of the atom is found in a very
small part of the atom. This is called the nucleus of the atom.
It is very tiny and extremely dense.

Result: Some of the positively charged particles were deflected

or even
bounced back.
Atomic Theory: Like charges repel so the nucleus must have a
positive charge. If electrons have a negative charge they
could not be in a positively charged nucleus. Electrons must
surround the nucleus at a distance.

Result: The diameter of the nucleus is 100,000 times smaller

than the diameter of the entire gold atom.
Atomic Theory: Atoms are mostly empty space with a tiny,
massive nucleus at the center .
Why is the head of a pin compared to
the diameter of a stadium like an atom?

The diameter of a pinhead is 100,000 times smaller than

the diameter of a stadium. Likewise the diameter of the
nucleus of an atom is 100,000 times smaller than the
diameter of an atom
The Bohr Model of the Atom
What did Bohr learn about electron movement?

• Bohr proposed that

electrons move in paths
at certain distances
around the nucleus.
• Electrons can jump
from a path on one level
to a path on another
level.
• Click here
http://www.colorado.edu
/physics/2000/quantum
zone/bohr.html
The Modern Theory of the Atom

• Electrons
travel in
regions
called
“electron
clouds”
• You cannot
predict
exactly
where an
electron will
be found
http://www.fearofphysics.com/Atom/atom3.html
Energy Levels

The energy that an

electron has is based on
its location around the
nucleus. (Electrons that
are closer to the nucleus
have less energy than
those that are farther
away from the nucleus)
How can bookshelves help you understand
the movement of electrons?
•Each shelf represents an energy level
•Each book represents an electron
•You can move a book to a higher or
lower shelf with the correct amount of
energy.
•A book cannot be between shelves
(An electron can move by gaining or
losing energy but can never be
between energy levels)
How small are atoms?

THERE ARE 2 X 1022 ATOMS IN A PENNY. If all the

atoms in a penny were blown up to the size of a grain of
sand they would cover the entire state of California
What can a scanning
tunneling electron
microscope show us?
• These images do
not show an actual
picture of an atom.
They show a color-
enhanced image of
the surface of a
material at the
atomic level.
Subatomic Particles
• Cathode ray experiments, 1897, John Joseph
Thomson,discovery of electron, the negatively
charged particle in an atom
• The existence of subatomic is further
confirmed w/ the discovery of radioactivity by
Henri Becquerel (Becquerel rays are emitted
when atoms are disintegrated)
• Ernest Rutherford named the 3 kinds of
Becquerel rays as
• alpha particles - were He atoms w/ their
electrons removed, positive and very massive
compared to electron
Subatomic Particles
• Ernest Rutherfors named the 3 kinds of
Becquerel rays as
• beta particles - high-energy electrons (further
confirmed the existence of the electron in all
matter
• gamma radiation - a high-energy radiation
which is similar to X rays and does not
consist of particles
 Subatomic Particles
• Proton - positive charge of the nucleus, a
particle that is 1867 times more massive than
the electron. The charge has the same
magnitude as of the electron but opposite in
sign. Discovered by Eugene Goldstein.
• Neutron - Discovered by James Chadwick in
1932. Has almost the same mass as the
protons but neutral.
Particle Charge Charge Unit Mass (g)
Electron -1.60217733 x 10 -19 1- 9.1093897 x 10 -
28
Proton +1.60217733 x 10 - 1+ 1.67495 x 10 -24
19
Neutron 0 0 1.67495 x 10 -24
Identity of an Atom
• One characteristics that is common to all
atoms of an element is the number of protons
in their nuclei, this is the atomic number
• indicates that no 2 elements have the same
stomic number and the same number of
protons in the nuclei of their atoms
• Atoms of an element that have the same
atomic number but differ in mass are called
isotopes
• Nuclide- an atom of a specific isotope
• Nucleus contains nucleons: protons and neutrons
• Atomic number Z = number of protons
• Neutron number N = number of neutrons
• Mass number A = number of nucleons = Z + N
• Each element has unique Z value
• Isotopes of element have same Z, but different N
and A values

A
Notation: Z X
 Ions
• If electrons are removed from or added to a
neutral atom , a charged particle of the same
element, called an ion, is formed.
• Cation- positively charged ion, formed
when an electron is removed from the
atom
• Anion- negatively charged ion, formed
when an electron is added from the atom